


Two Can Win

by levendis



Series: Prompt Fics [66]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Board Games, F/M, Gen, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-03 00:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6588715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levendis/pseuds/levendis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An hour on Darillium, not quite to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Can Win

**Author's Note:**

> for anon, who prompted: an hour on Darillium

“When I said we could do whatever we want.”

“Mmm.”

“You didn’t know what I meant, did you,” River said. Mostly with fondness, a soupçon of chagrin. Splash of condescension. She poured herself another glass of champagne, watching him set the board game up.

“You meant we could do whatever - oh.”

“And the penny drops.” She toasts him with her glass, downs half of it. 

The Doctor stared desolately down at the game pieces, cards, bits and bobs. Worrying at a die between his thumb and forefinger. “Sorry. Not sorry for trying to play a truly excellent board game instead of the-” He wiggled his hands around, apparently now Doctor-Speak for ‘sexual relations’. “But I am sorry for not paying attention to you, understanding what it is that you…want.”

Bless his mis-matched socks, he really was trying.

“You’re not the man that you were, are you.”

He gestured at himself, up and down. “Obviously.”

“No, I mean…” She sets her glass down on the mantle, crouches down, fumbling towards where he’s cross-legged in the middle of a pile of cards all saying 'WOW!’. “You’re not - ”

He stared at her expectantly. What is he not? Go on, he was dying to know.

“Well.” She shrugged, settled herself down properly. Pulled a die-cast metal shoe from under her arse and handed it to him. “We’ve got twenty-four years to figure that out. How about you just teach me how to play, um.” She glanced at the box lid. “ _Who’s Invading Planet X97297HK0._ ”

He knew what she was doing. He always did. But he took the opportunity, very gratefully. “Right. So. You’re the shoe-” He handed her the shoe back, depositing it carefully into her open hands. “And I’m the rocket dog, like so. We each try to be the first to solve the mystery of Who Is Invading Planet X97297HK0, while also trying to…you’d tell me, yes? If you weren’t interested? I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

He was trying so very hard. River swallowed, willing away the tightness in her chest.

She shuffled through the cards. 50-ish Wow!’s to be drawn on the occasion of, she guessed, reaching a Wow! space on the board. “You’re just saying that because you’re afraid I’ll beat you.”

“It’s statistically unlikely that - ”

“I’m totally gonna beat you,” she said, and grinned. She shook the die, holding his gaze, and threw it.


End file.
